Birchleigh residents came together on 12 July to clean the overgrown yard of Birchleigh Library in a community-led effort to restore pride in their public spaces and neighbourhood.
The clean-up was organised by residents Lourens and Sonia Fourie, who were concerned about the neglected state of the library’s outdoor area, which had become overrun with long grass, weeds and untrimmed trees.
“We are doing this because we love our community and where we stay. We feel proud when the place is clean and well maintained,” said Lourens Fourie.
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Sonia Fourie added, “We do this for safety. When you get inside the library, it looks beautiful, but on the outside, it is actually quite shocking. We need to fix this so that what you see on the outside reflects what you get inside.”
Volunteers brought their own tools and spent the day cutting grass, trimming trees and tidying the garden space.
Among them were Kobus and Charlotte Fourie, who recently moved to Birchleigh and have been living in the area for just six weeks.
“When we heard about the clean-up, we decided to come because it’s a good initiative, and for us, it’s a way to get to know the community,” said Charlotte Fourie.
Long-time resident Sibongile Kepiyana, who has lived in Birchleigh for eight years, said the community has grown tired of poor service delivery.
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“Service delivery is very poor. We as the community have decided to take matters into our own hands. I mean, we fix potholes, and now we are doing the clean-up,” she said.
“We don’t want anything from the municipality except the basics, like clean-up services, proper roads, working streetlights and patched potholes. In doing this, we are trying to preserve what is left of our community.”
Emmanuel Mashabela, a resident for three years, shared similar views.
“The service we are getting from the municipality is very bad. Even if you look around, the place is very dirty, and no one is coming to help, yet we are paying for these services,” he said.
“So, we took it upon ourselves to try and make the community clean. Because we are being led by people who don’t care, what can we do?”
Ward 15 councillor Amanda Davison joined the clean-up and thanked residents for taking action.
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She acknowledged the ongoing confusion over which department is responsible for garden maintenance at Ekurhuleni facilities, which is often passed between the Real Estate Department and the Ekurhuleni Water and Waste (EWM) Parks Department.
“I would like to sincerely applaud and thank the Birchleigh community members who took it upon themselves to clean and restore the garden at Birchleigh Library.
“Your initiative shows true civic pride and commitment to preserving our public spaces, and it does not go unnoticed,” said Davison.
